Good day, my beauties! For this post, I want to feature another blog post I read a few weeks back on how to deal with copycats. As a creative, we all have our own identity and originality. However, there are times where we have people in our lives who "swagger jacks" us.

Can I get an AMEN!? I know I am not the only one who has dealt with a copycat, lol! One of my gal pals, Terrace wrote a post with great tips on how to deal with copycats and protecting not only yourself but your brand. Check it out!

How to Deal with Copycats?

Entreprenuer and Blogger Terrace Sherman

As an entrepreneur, you are a visionary and a creator, you have the responsibility to not only conceptualize but to also nurture, maintain, and grow your business; similar to the way a mother births and raises a child.

If a parent allows their child to play at a park, even though there is a sea of other children at play, that parent can still identify and pick their child out of the lot. As a business owner, you can cancel out all the background noise and recognize your brand, business strategies, and ideas. This is leading me into this posts topic...How to deal with copycats?

1. Protect Your Business

Always have contracts in place, make sure your business name, logo, branding materials, and projects are trademarked and copy written. Register your business, take advantage of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and when in doubt always seek legal counsel.

2. Don't Give Copycats Free Promotion

It is very difficult to sit back and watch a copycat at work...I mean you work long hours...put your blood, sweat, and tears into something so of course it’s common to want to call them out. Personally, I can be confrontational, but completely ignoring a copycat is something I recommend. People copy either out of jealousy or because they're inspired and feel what you are doing is working. I say don't fuel them by giving them your attention. If legal action needs to be taken let your lawyer tend to them.

3. Keep Your Brand Strategies a Secret

It is very common to get overzealous and discuss your new ideas and concepts with family, friends, colleagues, etc. A rule of thumb -no matter how close you are to completing a project or even if the project is completed, do not discuss it with anyone outside of your team (who should have signed Non-Disclosure agreements on file) or make any announcements until you are officially ready to begin marketing the project.

SpongeBob is a good example - Plankton tries time and time and time again to steal the Krabby Patty formula, yet Mr. Krabs has it under lock and key. The Krabby Patty formula is what sets The Krsuty Krab apart from the competition and Mr. Krabs understands and takes extra precaution to protect it.

4. Stay on Top of Industry Trends and Changes

A copycat is not a bad person; however, they will always be 10 steps behind you. A carbon copy has to wait until you make your next move before they make theirs, so it is important that you always stay in the know. Continuously study market trends and strategize a way to keep your business at the forefront of all changes.

Terrace Sherman is CEO and founder of Couture, Inc., a growing corporation, specializing in marketing, events, eCommerce, and beauty. Her blog, TerraceSherman.com serves as a venue of self-expression, self-discovery, self-love, inspiration, and motivation on the journey of entrepreneurship.

I hope you enjoyed these tips on how to deal with copycats. Of course, imitation is the highest form of flattery, but it is vital to protect your identity.

Each month, I would like to feature a blog post on my site. If you would like your blog post to be featured, feel free to send me an email iamsohoglam@gmail.com.

Happy October! It's a new month, and we are just under 100 days remaining of 2018. I remember at the beginning of this year, I read through my list of goals I wanted to achieve for 2018 and I can honestly tell you that rebranding was not one of them. However, I did indicate through prayer for an increase in my business and craft.

I was excited to be an attendee of the Makeup Mogul Masterclass taught by makeup artist extraordinaire, Tiyana Robinson. Before we dig in, let me give you a background on how I ended up in her masterclass.

First of all, let me elaborate on how POWERFUL social media is! Thanks to one of my friends, I reached out to a correspondent who posted on Twitter that she was looking for a makeup artist for a short film.

I know, I have been MIA for some time now, but a lot has happened in my personal life. I had plans on writing some blog posts regarding spending my first birthday as an Atlanta resident, my one year anniversary as a resident of Atlanta and other random posts including some podcast recordings. However, some events happened in my life to where I decided to take a mental break.

There is nothing like a good ole blogger challenge! My blogger boo Courtney from Passionate Woman CS created a fun challenge in her latest post, 25 & Winging It. She created this challenge for bloggers to share some fun facts, confessions and life lessons about us. So when my girl and blogger boo Michaela from A Dash of Michaela, shared her post, 23 & Winging It, she then tagged me to join the challenge as well and I am ready for the task.

Summer 2018 is just around the corner, and of course, we are ready, or not. When the sun is out, we are out, and we cannot afford to have our makeup looking like you came through drippin, literally. One thing I hate to see is a queen out and about with her makeup running down her face.

It's been a while since I've done any Get Jay's Look posts and it feels good to bring them back. Kicking off my 2018 makeup looks, it was only right to recreate Beyonce's makeup from her performance at Coachella.

I have always been a fan of Drake's music, especially when he released More Life last year. To this day I still play that album from start to finish. Earlier this year, he released God's Plan, and it caught my attention, at least I thought it did until he dropped, Nice for What this past Friday night. Let me tell you, the MOMENT I HEARD THIS SONG, I instantly fell in love.

Hey loves! Happy first day of March! Spring is upon us, and after a ROUGH month of February, I would like to begin the month with a blog post feature. For this post, I want to feature a fellow blogger, named T Mac and her review of an event she attended in Baltimore, Maryland called Wine & Pasta: Fade II Black sponsored by Wine & Pasta Events, LLC. As much as she anticipated attending the event and supported a black-owned business, unfortunately, T Mac's experience was not a great one.